Life-saving device for aircraft.



1. E. STANGERI4 LIFE SAVING DEVICE FOR AIRCRAFI.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 1I. 1918. l 1,290,79, 'Patented @11.11919 f 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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WITNESSES l J'. E. STA`NGER- UFE SAVING DEVICE FOR AIRCRAFT.

APPLICATION FILED IULY 1H 1918.

Patented Jan. 7,1919.

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TTOH/VEYS ,UnirrEpv1.1s-TntrEs. PATENT o-EEICE.

' JosEPHEDGAE STANGEE, OEEEIDGETON, NEW JERSEY.-

To all lwhom it may concern s Beit known that I, JosErH E. STANGER, a citizen of theUnited States, and a resident of Bridgeton, in the county of Cumberland and-State of New Jersey, have invented certain newv and useful Improvements in Life- Saving Devices for Aircraft, of which the following is a specification.

'My invention relates to improvements in life saving devices, it being more particularly adapted for use in 'connection with .aircraft of all kinds'. and it consists in the constructions and arrangements herein described and claimed.'

"An". ,object of my invention is to provide life saving device to be used more especially by aviators, which .is light, small in bulk and consequently easily carried when strapped in place a d causing no inconvenience to the wearer in his movements.

A further object of the invention is to provide a parachute rolled in a small bundle and .carried in ,a pocket on the back of a belt strapped around the body of the wearer beneaththe arms.

A further object of the-invention conslsts in the peculiar manner of folding the para#k chute prior to rolling it,consisting of turn-v ing up the edge all the way around so that this edge is initially turned out to catch the `air and insure the opening of the parachute.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings yin which:

Figure'l is a perspectiveview showing the life saving device strapped in place on the back of the aviator, Y A v Fig.- 2 is a front view illustrating the appearance of the front of thebelt,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the device showing' the parts separated.

Fig. 4 isa perspective view showing the life saving device 1n use,

Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the action on initially opening the parachute, and' Figs. 6 and 7 are detail sectional views illustrating the principle ofthe up-turned ed e of the parachute.

ig. -8 shows a modification of the belt l portion of the device.

In applying the life saving device. the belt 1 is placed around the body under the arms as illustrated in Fig. 2, with the straps Specification of Letters Patent.

" Application cleanly 11.1918. i sesame-14.492.

belt 1 are provided 'with a plurality ofeyeof the belt 1 in any suitable manner, holds the EIEEfsavING DEVICE EOE AIRCRAFT.

Patented' aan. agp-i919. 2 applied to thev shoulders. T he 'straps 2 are fastened to the belt 1 at the front'and back as illustrated in Fig. '3. The ends of thel lets 3 in which the cord '4 is laced in any de- 60 sired manner and tied in a knot at 5.

The belt `1 instead of consisting simply of the plain flexible body illustrated yin Fig. 3, may be modified in `order that the wearer may'fioat should he fall into the water by 65 addingan air compartment 16 around the 2 belt. This compartment is simply in'*tl1e 'i nature of a pocket vmade of any suitable i terial which is provided with. a valve 17. v Since the belt is strapped to the 'body high 70 i up under the arms` it becomes an easy `matter for the wearer to reach down andin# flate the compartment 16. i Fig. A8 shows the arrangementabove described-and also shows how the ends ofthe belt may be fastened together by buckles and straps 18. It shouldV be understood that a number 'of different.` fastening means may be employed to secure the belt. When the compartment or pneumatic chamber 16 is inflated the belt becomes a life nreserver in water. 'l

The particular arrangement of lacing the 1 belt'together will be governed largely bythe taste'of the wearer and also bythe size of his body. The three sets of eyelets may be placed together as shown in Fig. 2 so that the cord 4 may be laced through all of them under the condition that the wearers body is small enough to necessitate this. Obviously if the body is larger, the belt will be lengthened accordingly so that the two first sets only of eyelets beginning4 from the endsof the belty are used.

A pocket 6 sewnor fastened to the back parachute 7 when rolled intol a bundle as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The parachute is .made of any suitable material and may be of any desired size. A plurality of cords 8 secured in eyelets 9 at equal distances along the edge 10 of the parachute are assembled in .a joint 11. The joint 11 is fastened to a ring 12 to which one end of a release rope 13 is fastened. The other end of the release `rope 13 is fastened to a loop or strap 14 slipped over one end of the belt 1. The rope 13 lies across the shoulder of the wearer somewhat as illustrated, and when it is desired to release the parachute by pulling it out of the 110 pocket 6, the wearer grasps the rope 1 3 as shown in Fig. 1 and jumps at thesame time.

In folding and rolling the parachute v7,

the' edge 10 is turned up approximately 5 eight inches all the way around along the line 15. This 'edge is turned up prior to rolling the parachute into abundle. Figs. 5 and 7 illustrate the purpose for turning up the edge. When the parachuteunfolds ini- 10 tially and the cords Scommence to become taut, the edge 10 will be the first to be pulled over so that 'a gutter a as illustrated in Fig.

7, is formed all the way around. This gut- ,Al-as indicated 'by the arrows. The tendency A of the outer edge 10 being to pull down, the airis directed toward the inside of the f parachu e so that it rapidly fillsand the folds are forced to. expand.

This feature is very important in that the safety of the device depends thereonto a A great extent. This folded up edge insures the rapid expansion of the parachute so'that the wearer drops a considerably shorter distance before his fall is retarded, than is the .case in parachutes where this provision is omitted.'

The operation will at once be` apparent from the drawings but byl way of review it may be briefly stated that all that is required of the wearer in case of an emergency, is -simply to grasp the release rope 13 and simultaneously pull thereon as he makes the leap. The first action that occurs after."

the descent commences, is the formation] of the inverted gutter a which directs the air to the inside of the parachute and forces/'the folds apart. The parachute is thus rapidly opened to the fullest extent as shown in 40 Fig. 4 and the momentum of the'body is checked.

'4 It may be stated in `closing that the lmate-l rials of which the various parts are made will be a matter of selection in the making of the device. The devices will also be made in different size so that bodies of dify 4ferent grths can rea ily be fitted. While the construction and arrangement ofthe device as herein described and claimed is that of a generally preferred form. ob.- viously slight modifications in the construction and arrangement of the device may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.l

I claim:- n 1. A life saving device comprising a belt secured around the body, a parachute attached to the belt, and means embodied in the parachute for insuring the spreading of the parachute, said means comprising a turned-up edge arranged to form into an ter is inverted as shown and catches the air inverted gutter and act as an air deflector tothe inside. y

' 2. A life saving device comprising a belt` secured aroundv the body, means for supporting a rolled-up parachute on the back of theibelt, a parachute normally rolled up 'and supported on the belt by said means,

connecting means between the parachute and said belt, and a turned-up ap aroundthe edge of the parachute having means for receiving said .connecting means, said fiap opening into an inverted gutter to act as an air defleetor toward the 1ns1de and insuring the rapid spreading of the-parachute, on the initial portion of thefdescent.

3. A life saving device comprising a belt secured around the body, lacing eyelets -in the ends of the belt, a lacing cord'for fastening the belt to the body, shoulder straps applicable to the body, means for fastening and supporting the belt, a parachute pocket attached to the' back of the belt, inflatable compartments l adjacent to said pocket to occupy places beneath the arms ,of the wearer, and a parachute normally rolled up into a bundle and occupying the pocket, with connecting means between the parachute and the front of the belt, said means including arelease rope coming in front of the wearer andarranged to be grasped when falling.

5. A life saving device for retarding the fall of the wearer and supporting him in.

the water, comprising a belt with an inflatable compartment, attachable to the body, a valve' in the compartment near the mouth of the wearer to be readily reached for the iniiationl of the compartment while falling, a parachute normally rolled up and heldin place on the belt to avoid encumbering the wearer, and means connecting the parachute to the belt, said means includingl a release cord passing over the shoulder to enable grasping thereof to release the parachute,

and a loop forming the connection between the release cord and the belt. v

JOSEPH EDGAR srANGER. 

